


Northern Downpour

by Keysmasher



Series: Good Girl [11]
Category: Criminal Minds, Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Childbirth, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Pregnancy, Tied to the bed in a non-sexy way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 04:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keysmasher/pseuds/Keysmasher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's someone targeting pregnant women in rural northern Virginia. Supernatural/Criminal Minds crossover, can be read without prior knowledge of either show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think it comes through more in this fic than in my others, but the county and town are very loosely based on my own home. Mostly because I've lived here all my life and know the area damn well.

"Hello, everyone. Thanks for coming," Hotch said.

"Just can't stay away," Morgan joked. "What's going on?"

"Northern Virginia," Garcia said. "Right in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Two women have gone missing in the past month. One was found yesterday, one early this morning." She clicked a button and the women's right forearms filled the screen. "The word 'whore' was stitched into them with what looked like red embroidery thread."

"Only looked like?" Rossi asked.

"Upon further examination, they realized it was white thread that had been soaked in their blood and I am done looking at that. Both women were pregnant. They'd given birth and their babies were dropped off at a hospital."

"So it's not about the kids," Blake said. "It's about the women."

"Hatred of pregnant women." Reid frowned. "That's unusual."

"What's more unusual is the drugs they found in the women's systems. There were traces of misopristol and dinopristone found in their vaginas, oxytocin in the blood." JJ flipped back to the first page of the case file. "The unsub induced labor and killed the women hours before the bodies were found."

"When did they go missing?" Hotch asked.

"Monday and Tuesday," Garcia answered. "Four or five days ago."

"So he keeps them for a few days, and if they don't give birth, he induces and kills them," Reid summarized. "Was the sewing done pre- or post-mortem?"

"Pre," JJ answered.

"It's close enough to us we're driving," Hotch said. "Who's the lead?"

"Samuel Brasen," JJ answered. "Started in the jail, went to road when the county finished building the regional pen, and worked his way up to detective a few years later."  
***  
"Hello, agents," a tall, dark-haired man boomed when they made it to the 'safety office', which seemed to function as the hub for law enforcement, fire and rescue, and ambulance for the county. It was across the road from a high school, which undoubtedly broke several federal regulations regarding firearms and school property. "Sam Brasen."

"I'm Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone," JJ said with a smile. "These are SSAs Hotchner, Rossi, and Morgan, and agents Blake and Doctor Reid. Do you have somewhere we can set up?"

"Yeah, through here," he said, holding his ID to a card reader. "I'm getting you all temporary passes made, it'll get you everywhere but the evidence locker."

"Dispatch to Unit 519," crackled over the radio.

"519 here, go ahead," Brasen said into his shoulder.

"Switch to low-band."

He twiddled a knob. "What's up?"

"Got another one out on Old Airport Road."

"Where?"

"Fly hill."

"En route." He looked at them. "Anyone coming?"

"Morgan, Reid, Blake," Hotch ordered. "Detective, can you hold off on your crime scene techs?"

"They're all busy on the other side of the county," Brasen said. "It'll be hours before they catch up, with everything else that's been happening."

"This doesn’t have priority?" Hotch asked.

He shook his head. "First come, first serve. Come on, Old Airport Road's on the other side of town. Twenty minutes away, easy."

"Even with lights and sirens?" Morgan asked as they started to leave.

Brasen rolled his eyes. "We go though town with lights and sirens we get nailed by the town, so we only do it when there's someone actively getting mauled by a bear or something."

"That happen often?"

"Not too much. Once or twice a year." He unlocked the door to a cruiser. "When you get to the gate, pull forward until the sensor picks you up. Wait for it to open all the way before you come forward, and don't try to come through on the same cycle I do." He caught the glance they traded and said, "Yeah, I know. It's retarded."

When they were in the car, Blake said, "That was different."

"He sounds more like a teenager than a man," Reid said thoughtfully. "Bet he's either the oldest or the youngest."

"Doesn't leave much room for error," Morgan pointed out, starting the car. "Ninety percent of people are oldest or youngest."

"That's not entirely accurate-" Reid began.

"I know," Morgan cut him off. "But at least we know he doesn't care about offending people. That level of entitlement is...something, anyway."

When they got to the scene, they saw it was set up much like the others. The deputy at the tape took down their names and ranks before letting them through to the scene itself.

"MO's evolved," Reid said, squatting next to the body.

Morgan hit speed dial 2 in his phone. "Hotch, put me on speaker?"

"Done." Hotch's voice sounded tinny, as it always did coming through the phone.

"He's evolving. The word 'whore' is written on her chest."

"It's in lipstick," Blake said.

"Sure it's not blood?" Brasen asked from behind her. "Or nail polish or something?"

Blake paused. If he didn't know what _lipstick_ looked like smeared over skin, odds were good he basically _was_ a child in a man's body, at least in dating terms. "See how it's dry in some spots and cracking? And the consistency? It's definitely lipstick."

"Has she given birth recently?" Reid asked.

Blake lifted the woman's skirt and almost gagged. "Definitely. ME'll give us a better idea of when."

"So he marked her with lipstick. Before or after?" Hotch asked.

"After birth, before death," Blake said.

"How can you tell?" Brasen asked.

"Giving birth is a sweaty, disgusting business," Blake answered. "If it was done before, it would be smeared to hell. And see how it slid so easily? She was still sweating a little, so she was alive."

"Why is this area called Fly Hill?" Reid wondered, looking around.

Brasen chuckled and hunkered down to look at the body. "Cause southbound, you come over this bump here doing thirty, you get airborne. Is that relevant?"

"Not particularly," Reid said. "I was just curious."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Cas," she said sleepily.

"Morning, Maria," he said, brushing her hair back and kissing her temple.

"Wuzzuh time?"

"A little after eleven."

"Can you help-"

"Of course." He stood with her, holding her arm for balance and to support some of her weight. The doctors had her on near-complete bed rest; she was only allowed to move for the toilet and to shower, and she had to have someone help her bathe on a stool.

"One more week," she said under her breath.

"I'll stop waiting on you hand and foot," Cas reminded her.

She smiled tiredly. "Then we'll have screaming, squealing babies to wait on."

"I can't actually wait for that."

She poked her belly. "It's like a punch balloon."

"Please don't punch it."

"I'm not that stupid, Cas. Don't suppose there's any breakfast left?"

He chuckled and helped her back to bed. "I can make something for you. What would you like?"

"Don't suppose we have the stuff to make omelettes?" she asked hopefully.

"Spinach and feta?"

"Have I told you today how much I love you?"

Cas grinned. "I love you too, baby. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when your omelette's done."

"So fucking lucky," she mumbled, eyelids drooping again.

Cas smiled fondly and left for the kitchen, deciding to make one for himself as well, but when he knew she couldn't see him anymore, the smile dropped. She usually only said things like that when her depression was getting bad, and she shouldn't be so tired. With her back as messed up as it was, it was likely she was going to need a C-section. Twins were often born prematurely, especially to first-time mothers; what if that happened with her? What if the doctors in the hospital fucked up and gave her drugs she was allergic to? Or tried to give her a cinnamon bun and gave her a heart attack when they brought it in the room?

The best thing about it was that they only had another week to go; if they lasted two more, the doctors would induce labor and that would be the end of it. The second-best thing was that the museum's HR guaranteed two months paid maternity leave. She would have used a month of it by the time the kids were born, so she'd have another month before she had to go back. Cas, as the lowest-earning member of the household and the only one with a job he didn't particularly care about, had offered to quit to stay at home. His last shift was that afternoon, and then he could stay in bed with Maria all day, only moving when she needed or wanted something.

Then again, he'd probably drive her crazy hovering like that. She liked having space, which might have something to do with how short her temper had gotten since the doctor had forbidden her from doing so much as peeing on her own. She always apologized after she snapped, and didn't stop talking to him until she'd convinced herself he wasn't upset, but it was rare for her to show even a hint of temper in their everyday lives.

He slid the finished omelettes onto two plates and carried them back to the room. "Maria," he said, touching her shoulder.

"Mm, food? Awes- awes- awesome," she yawned. "Thanks, Cas."

"Of course." He helped her sit up and arranged the pillows. "I have to leave in a few hours. Will you be all right?"

"Of course." She took a bite and nearly moaned. "Holy shit this is almost better than sex."

"Only almost? Clearly I'll have to get better at omelette-making. Is there a specific word for that?"

"I don't think so." She yawned again. "Damn it, why am I so tired all the time? I just woke up!"

"The doctor said you would be," Cas reminded her. "Finish eating and you can go back to sleep. Cold omelettes are gross."

"Mm," she agreed sleepily. They didn't talk after that, eating in silence. 

Cas helped her to the bathroom again before he left. "Dean will be home soon from the vet," he said.

"I know. It's only an hour, and I'm probably going to sleep through it. I'll see you when you get back. Love you."

"Love you too." Cas kissed her deeply. "Remember, early labor-"

"You're on speed-dial," she promised.

"My phone'll stay on." He slipped it into his pocket and made sure the ringer was turned up. By the time he left the room, she was asleep again.

She was awoken by a man in a blue shirt saying, "Ma'am? Can you hear me?"

"Wha?" she mumbled, squinting to make out the word 'Jones' embroidered on his shirt pocket. A caduceus was to the right of his name.

"Oh, good, you _are_ awake," he said, looking relieved. "Are you feeling all right?"

"M'fine," she mumbled, eyes closing again.

"Ma'am, you can't go to sleep," he said quickly. "Ma'am?"

She heard him through a tunnel, but she couldn't re-open her eyes. The world dissolved around her in a burst of blue spots.


	3. Chapter 3

"Can you tell us anything else about her?" Morgan asked the man in front of him.

"No," he said, voice breaking again. "Sarah was a good woman. I went over this with the cops when they found her yesterday. She had no enemies, we lived a good life. This was going to be our second child."

"How long have you been married, Mr. Smith?" Morgan asked.

"Five years."

"The man who did this wrote the word 'whore' on your wife's arm," Morgan said. "Do you know why he would have done that?"

"Eight months ago," Smith said. "That bastard."

"What happened?" Morgan asked again.

"Her boss at the time," Smith said. "He - he forced her. She called me, crying. She tried to give a report, but nobody believed her. We've been looking to move since."

Morgan felt a chill on his spine. "What do you mean, nobody believed her?"

"We went to the police. She begged. She wanted them to do a rape kit, she wanted to nail that bastard, but-" His voice cracked. "He's a _Virut_ ," he said, like that explained everything. "This place used to be called 'Virut Town', you know that? He's from the oldest family around. Politics, money, the family controls it. If there was a Succo in the department, they would have taken it - Succos and Viruts have been feuding for years - but nobody wants to offend the Viruts. Piss one of them off and you don't find work around here ever again. We just found a house forty miles south, we were going to put in an offer next week." He rubbed his face and pushed his hair back. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, okay? I'll lose my job, and Brennan, our son, he's only three."  
***  
"Mr. Polin," Blake said. "You were in the process of divorcing Helen Thompson, is that correct?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his eyes. "Court date for the kids was yesterday. She didn't show up. Obviously." He gave a strained laugh. "Custody battle's a bitch, but I didn't want them to lose her."

"You listed infidelity as the reason. Yours or hers?"

"Hell, it was both of us," he said. "You marry someone right out of high school, it's awesome for a few years, but then real life catches up. Too many old fights, resentments, exes you both know, you know? You start looking for something better. Things were pretty amicable, all told. She sat me down and said she wanted a divorce, and I was just relieved, you know? I'd known about her affairs for years, and I'm pretty sure she knew about mine, but - ah, hell. Some things you pretend about, you know? For the sake of the kids."

Blake asked, "Who was your wife having an affair with?"

"Tom Jacobs, he works at Southern States," Polin answered. "And I was going with Theresa Lewis, from Edward Jones. Helen and I still cared about each other, we just didn't work anymore."  
***  
"Mr. Ubin, your wife was found with the word 'whore' written on her chest in lipstick," Reid said. "Do you have any idea why?"

"No." He looked bewildered. "She told me that part of her life was over."

"That part of her life?" Reid repeated.

"Yeah. She's - she didn't grow up in the richest of families. Sometimes she had to make ends meet." He shrugged. "She got picked up for it once, told me she got out of it by sucking the cop off."

Reid caught sight of Hotch in the doorway. "Thanks for your time, Mr. Ubin, we'll let you know if we have any further questions," he said, standing.

"She was a prostitute?" Hotch asked him quietly as they made their way back to the detectives' room.

"A while ago, yeah. Why?"

"One of the other women was raped and the third was having an affair. We have enough for a profile. Excuse me, can we have your attention please?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard. "We're looking for a white male in his mid- to late-thirties. There's a good chance he was abused as a child, so look for someone with CPS reports, foster homes, school truancy - anything to indicate abuse."

"This kind of unsub is what we call mission-oriented," Morgan said. "He's targeting women he believes are whores. Through conversation with the victims' families and friends, we've determined that all of them had sex outside of marriage, one of them unwillingly."

"We only see this extreme hatred of women when the unsub's mother was very abusive or when the parents taught him to fear sex," Blake added.

"This type of unsub will probably not force a suicide-by-cop scenario and it's likely he will give himself up if he is cornered," Reid continued. "His easy access to the drugs commonly used to induce labor shows he probably has a job in a medical field. Look for nurses, medics, doctors' assistants, medical office clerks - he won't be a doctor. His obsessive pathology will prevent him from doing well enough in school to have finished an MD, maybe even a bachelor's."

"He will continue to kill until he is stopped," Rossi told them. "It is imperative we find him as soon as possible."

Brasen's radio crackled. "Unit 519, we got a missing pregnant woman."

"519 here, go ahead. Who's missing?"

"Maria."

"Ma- shit. You profilers, where's he gonna be holed up?" Brasen's entire demeanor had changed from easygoing to aggressive, and they all wondered why. 

It was Reid who answered. "I've been working on a geographical profile. He probably lives somewhere in these three blocks. We have a tech analyst running the names through now."

"Shit," Brasen said again. "That's in the middle of town. Not our jurisdiction."

"Call the town," Rossi said. "Have them meet us there."

"They wouldn't do that if their lives depended on it." Brasen looked angry now, and the other deputies in the room were edging away from him.

"What's Maria's last name?" Blake asked, pausing with her pen on the paper.

"Brasen," he spat.

"Any relation?" Hotch asked.

"She's my little sister. We don't talk much. Johnson, call over to town." He clicked his radio on again. "519 to dispatch."

"Dispatch here, go ahead."

"Is Maria's husband here?"

"And her boyfriends."

"Send them up."

JJ frowned. "Sorry, but did she just say-"

"Yep. I don't understand it, think it's fucking stupid, but it works for them. She's happy, which I guess is all that counts."

"Let us handle questioning them," Rossi said. "You just became too close to the investigation."

Brasen ran a hand through his hair. "We haven't talked in years. Like, at all. We haven't even seen each other since before they moved in with her, which was, like, two years ago."

"A year and a half, actually," someone said from the doorway. They turned to see three middle-aged men, two wearing slacks and nice shirts and one wearing grease-stained jeans and a T-shirt. The tallest one continued, "You'd be brother Sam, then? I'm partner Sam. These are Dean" - he indicated the man about Morgan's height, with short brown hair and bright green eyes - "and Cas." The smallest, with black hair and blue eyes, gave a small nod. "Good to finally meet you."

"Heavy on the sarcasm," Reid murmured to Blake. "I wonder what happened."

"Partner Sam?" Brasen sneered. "You actually call yourself that?"

"Only when I'm talking to her brother, who has the same name," Sam shot back. "It's not like I call you brother Sam."

"That's what we call you," Dean said, gesturing to himself and Cas. "When we talk about you, anyway. Your family's not the most popular topic."

Brasen snorted. "FBI's getting you. I'll be doing something _useful_ , like finding my sister."

Dean glared. "You stopped being her brother when your family disowned her, you sack of shit."

"Okay!" Hotch said loudly, stepping between the men. Brasen had six inches and a badge on Dean, but Morgan would put money on Dean in a fight. "Dean, why don't you go with Agents Morgan and Doctor Reid. Sam, SSA Rossi and Agent Blake will talk with you, and Cas, Agent Jareau and I will talk with you."

"Dean," Sam said quietly, jostling his arm. "Fighting's not gonna help."

He finally stopped glaring at Brasen, who was now ostentatiously writing something on a pad of paper, and followed Morgan and Reid to one of the interview rooms. Sam followed Rossi and Blake to an unoccupied office. Cas, Hotch, and JJ sat at an empty desk in the corner of the room.

When asked about her, they all had different things to say. Cas spoke of her kindness, Dean of her warmth, Sam of her generosity. All were clearly head over heels, for her and for each other. Dean was upset with Cas, though he admitted he knew he was being unreasonable; Maria was a grown woman, and could handle being alone for an hour.

At least, she could when she wasn't eight and a half months pregnant with twins.

Their biggest argument was over leaving clothes on the floor and forgetting to do laundry. Cas was quitting his job to stay home with the kids, which was unusual for a man, but she made more money and actually cared about her job and he liked housework. Dean's biggest fear was that she would die. Sam thought she was the one who kept old resentments from causing problems. They all thought she kept fights from getting out of hand.

"She doesn't do well with yelling," Cas said. "Even when it's not aimed at her. Dean and I got into it one day, and she just shut down. She couldn't even speak for _hours_ . So we try to keep it down for her."

When Brasen heard that, he snorted. "Shows how well you know my sister, she yells back."

"I imagine her reaction has to do with how much she respects the person who's yelling," Cas said mildly. "Did she ever yell back at your parents, or only you?"

"Let's not get into that," JJ said quickly, wanting to avoid a fight. "Deputy, how's town coming along?"

"Slow." He rolled his eyes. "They're worried we're gonna bust-" He stopped abruptly. "Um." He blinked at them for a second, then turned and hurried away.

"Bust?" Hotch asked quietly.

"Town cops are the drug runners, according to Maria," Cas said. "They clear out the evidence locker by selling it."

"Really." Hotch and JJ exchanged looks. "Guess it's half and half, who's honest and who's not."

Cas suddenly leaned forward, eyes wide and earnest. "Please. You'll find her? She needs a C-section or she won't survive."

JJ swallowed. "We'll do our best," she said with a fake smile.

"Why won't she survive?" Hotch asked.

"Her back is - she had her spine fused, decades ago, and it still gives her problems. The - hardware - it's degraded, she said. Giving birth will break her in two." He leaned back in his seat.

JJ had just opened her mouth to give some platitude when Morgan burst in. "We got somethin'," he called. 

When they were together and Cas had left to sit with Dean and Sam, Morgan said, "Mike Jones, paramedic. When he was a resident in Maryland, a dozen women filed complaints saying he was creepy and rude. He was fired, moved here, got a job. He moonlights as a nurse at an OB/GYN office. Garcia ran records. All the victims had gone there for prenatal care."

"We have an address?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. Middle of town, right where Reid said he'd be. Lives above the movie theater."

"Let's go," Hotch said.

"Brasen?" JJ asked.

"Keep him out of it," Hotch ordered. "He's too close and it's out of his jurisdiction."

"Might want to get a state boy on it," one of the other detectives called. "I think this county's is over on 66."

"Can you have him meet us there?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah, just let me call over. And find a judge for the warrant."

They pulled up five minutes later. The movie theater was on Main Street - which, for this town, seemed to continue to be the main street even now. There were no open parking spots on either side of the road.

They ended up circling back to the courthouse and parking in what had been the lot for the county jail, directly behind the magistrates' offices. It was a five-minute walk to the movie theater.

"Two kids' movies and a rom-com," Morgan said. "Wonder what the teenagers in this place do for fun."

"Someone at the coffee shop said something about a museum," Reid offered as they filed up the stairs, guns drawn.

"That must be the one Maria Brasen runs," Rossi said. "He's in apartment 13."

Hotch was the one to knock. "Mike Jones?"

There was no answer.

"Mike Jones," he yelled again, straining to hear anything.

There was a distinct thump. "You hear that?" he asked.

"I heard it," Morgan said with a small smirk.

Hotch didn't know if he actually _had_ heard it or if he was going along with it for the sake of probable cause, but it didn't really matter.

"Mike Jones, open the door or we're coming in," he called.

There was another thump.

"Exigent circumstances," Hotch decided aloud, backing up and kicking just beside the handle. The door crashed open.

The main room was empty; there were four closed doors. They split without words. Morgan opened a linen closet; Blake found the bathroom. Rossi cleared what looked like the master bedroom. 

Reid opened the fourth door. "I got her!" he called, checking the room hurriedly. "Maria?"

She screamed around the gag in her mouth and he pulled it off. "Maria?" he said again.

"Yeah," she panted, tears running down her face. "Ah-"

"Are you okay?"

"Peachy," she snapped, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth through another wave of pain. "Can you please fucking untie m- _ah!_ "

"What's wrong?" Reid asked, reaching up and undoing the knots.

Her arms curled around her abs as soon as they were free. "I'm in labor, you fucking moron," she snapped. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

"Oh. _Oh!_ " he said, then turned and yelled through the open doorway, "Get an ambulance here!"

Her hand clamped on his arm. "Fuck, they're not gonna get here," she said, sobbing. "They're coming _now_."

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"They're fucking cons- oh God," she moaned. "Constant."

"Okay. Okay. I'm going to have to take off your underwear, okay?" he said. "JJ!"

"Okay," she panted. "Shit, just - _shit._ "

"What's up, Reid?" JJ asked, appearing in the doorway.

"She's in labor," Reid said, pulling her panties off her ankles. "The twins are coming now."

"Oh, shit," JJ said.

Reid kneeled between her legs. "Okay. Okay. You're doing good," he said, trying not to panic as he pulled out his neoprene gloves.

"It's doing well, you illiterate dickwad," she snapped.

JJ muffled a laugh as Hotch came to the doorway. "Jones isn't here."

"You fucking fuck, of course he's not," Brasen snapped. "Shit fuck fuck, _shit._ "

"Labor," JJ explained. "Go. Give the poor girl some privacy."

"We can't move her," Reid said. "They're coming too fast. You're doing well, Maria, you're doing real well, can you push for me?"

She sobbed. JJ closed the door in Hotch's face and returned to the bed. "Squeeze my hand," JJ ordered. "Squeeze and push."

"Ah - oh." Brasen's face went entirely blank.

"What?" JJ asked.

"Something snapped," Reid said. "I felt something snap."

"Back," she said, staring off into the middle distance before abruptly returning to reality. "Shit, fuck, _ow._ " The tears started again. "Damn it, fuck, shit, shit."

"You're doing well. The first one's crowning," Reid said. "Push for me, Maria." The baby slid into his hands, wet and covered in gunk but clearly female. "JJ, can you get a towel? And something sharp to cut the cord?"

Maria squeezed her hand so hard JJ felt the bones grind. "No, but - BLAKE!" she yelled.

Blake stuck her head in. "What?"

"Towels, water, and something sharp," Reid ordered as the baby started to cry. "Hurry, we've gotta cut the cord before the other one starts coming."

"On it. Paramedics will be here in two minutes."

Maria wailed. "We don't have two minutes," Reid snapped.

Barely thirty seconds later a wet towel was thrust into his hands. Blake dropped two dry towels on the bed and a bowl of warm water on the floor and pulled on her own gloves. "I dipped the scissors in alcohol," she said. "Vodka's the only thing I could find. And state's here."

"Fuck!" Maria screamed, banging her head against the pillows.

"I'm sure that's fine," Reid said hurriedly, passing the still-crying girl over to Blake. "Maria, you're doing really well, one's done, you're almost there, okay? You're almost there."

"Fuck," she whispered, bucking against the bed. They could see the color draining from her face.

"Stay awake for us," JJ said sharply. "Keep your eyes open, you can't go to sleep yet."

"Sh- SHIT!" Maria bucked again, and Reid said, "I see a head. Come on, Maria, one more. Big push, okay? Big push."

"We're right here," JJ said. "I know it hurts, one more push, one more push and then you're done."

Maria groaned, the other baby sliding out of her. "It's a boy," Reid said. "You've got a girl and a boy, Maria. You did really well. The paramedics will be here soon."

She whimpered and sagged back against the bed, eyes fluttering. "Stay awake," JJ said again. "Look, your baby girl's clean, you wanna hold her?"

"Can't," she whispered. "Back."

"Remember what Cas said? About the fusion?" Reid asked. "That was probably the snap."

Blake winced in sympathy. "Maria, what's the baby's name? Maria?"

"Maria, can you hear us?" JJ asked, leaning over her.

Reid dunked the wet towel in the water and started to clean off the boy, suddenly wondering why he'd been the one to deliver the babies when JJ had a kid of her own and Maria probably would have been more comfortable with one of the women. "Is she okay?"

"She's nonresponsive," JJ said.

"Paramedics just pulled up," Morgan called through the closed door.

"She's unconscious," Blake told him. "Her back snapped right before the girl was born."

" _Shit._ "

"Everyone's favorite word today," Blake mused aloud, resettling the girl in her arm and bouncing her a little. Reid finished getting the worst of the gunk off the boy and pulled off his gloves to wrap the newborn in the remaining dry towel.

The girl was winding down, falling asleep in Blake's arms. JJ had her fingers on Maria's neck, taking her pulse; the boy fell asleep on Reid. He couldn't help a goofy smile as he looked at him.

"Medics," Morgan said from behind them, opening the door.

"What happened?" the first one in asked.

"Pulse 140," JJ said. "She was kidnapped and held almost an entire day. We came in looking for the guy who took her and she was already in labor, two weeks early. We delivered the babies, but something in her back snapped. Her spine was fused."

"Any allergies you know of?" She was shining a light in Maria's eyes. "Unequal but responsive," she told her partner.

Reid answered quickly. "Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves will stop her heart, and acetaminophen will mess with her lungs."

"Get the backboard," the female medic ordered. "I'm going to start a saline line. The babies need to get to the hospital, too, but we don't have room in the ambulance for them. Can you get them there or do we need to get another bus?"

"We'll take them," Blake answered. "You're going to Memorial?"

The woman shook her head, tapping at the inside of Maria's elbow to find a vein. "Winchester Medical. This'll take more than a band-aid, so County'll just airlift her there anyway. Odds are Winchester will send her down to Charlottesville, but they might have someone who can help here." She suddenly leaned forward. "Can you hear me?"

"Wha?"Maria mumbled.

"Hey, honey. Can you tell me your name?" Her entire demeanor had changed, from brusque to kind in an instant.

"Maee," she slurred.

The woman's partner returned, bearing a long piece of molded red plastic.

"Let's get her strapped in," the woman ordered.

"Bay," Maria mumbled.

"Your babies are fine," JJ said soothingly. "But you need help, okay?"

"Ca?"

"Cas is fine, too. So are Sam and Dean."

"Goothe." Her body went limp again.

"Let's get her out of here," the medic ordered.

"We'll follow," Reid said, checking to make sure the boy's head was supported and moving back so they had a straight shot to the door. "Winchester Medical, you said?"

"Take 66 to 81 north, there are signs everywhere. We'll be in the emergency bay, obviously. On three?"

They lifted her and started carrying her out. Reid, Blake, and JJ followed. "She's going to the hospital?" they heard Hotch ask.

"The rest of your team knows what's going on," the woman said. "Someone mind getting the door?"

Rossi held it open for them, then the rest of the team. "Reid, Blake, Morgan," Hotch said, "I want you at the hospital. JJ, Rossi, we're going back to the safety building. We need to find Mike Jones."


	4. Chapter 4

"You found her?" Reid heard someone call.

He turned to find Sam, Dean, and Cas all hurrying down the hallway. "We did."

"How is she?"

"She went into labor early," Reid said. "Your babies are fine, they're in the neonatal unit. Maria is currently in surgery to repair the damage done to her back."

Cas paled. "Will she be all right?"

"We don't know," Morgan answered.

"Can we see her?" Dean asked.

"She's in surgery," Sam snapped, "of course we can't see her. What about the babies, can we see them?"

"Let me get a nurse," Blake said, standing up.

She came back minutes later with a cheerful young man in pale green scrubs. "Hey, I'm John," he said cheerfully. "Which of you is the father?"

They all three shrugged. "Does it matter?" Dean asked bluntly.

John's smile dimmed. "It matters for the birth certificate."

"Then it's Cas," Sam said. "He's her legal husband."

"We're just common-law." Dean smirked.

"Common-law's ten years in Virginia," Sam said. "We got eight more to go."

"We'll figure it out later," John promised. "Agents, would you like to come with us?"

"I'll stay here in case the doctors come out with anything," Morgan said. "You guys go ahead."

"You sure?" Reid asked.

"I'm sure, man. Go on. See those beautiful little babies you delivered."

" _You_ delivered?" Sam asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Reid said, following them through the door into the hallway. "She was in labor when we found her. The paramedics wouldn't have gotten there in time."

"And you just _happened_ to know how to deliver a baby," Dean said suspiciously.

"When JJ was pregnant, I memorized the birthing manuals."

"How are they?" Cas asked, changing the subject to something he considered more relevant. "We know one of them was going to be a girl, but we could not get a clear read on the other."

"They're fine. The other's a boy," Blake answered.

"Who's older?" Sam asked.

"Girl," Reid answered.

"Have you decided on names?" John asked.

The elevator dinged at that moment and they stepped inside. "Anna Asbilay for the girl," Sam said.

"Aspian Loe for the boy," Cas said. "It means 'good qualities'."

"Maria wanted to name her Amanda Lynn," Dean said.

"That means 'worthy of the lake's love," Cas said solemnly. "We did not wish to curse her."

Dean nudged his arm. "Hey. Ease up a bit. Maria will be fine, the kids are okay. Relax."

Sam slung an arm over Cas's shoulders with an easy familiarity. "It'll be fine, babe," Sam said, kissing the top of his head. "Wait and see. It'll all work out."

Reid envied their confidence. He knew things didn't always work out for the better; to be able to believe that spoke of an innocence he didn't have the luxury of indulging. 

Then he noticed the set of Dean's shoulders and Sam's wary eyes and realized they didn't have it, either. They were just trying to comfort Cas.

How had they ended up together? From what he'd seen, they were nearly opposites. Sam was quiet, Dean was quick to anger, Cas was an open book. He hadn't met Maria yet, but he'd bet it was a story worth telling.

With a jolt, he remembered that going to see somebody's kids was the _perfect_ time to ask that question. "How did you all meet?" he asked.

They exchanged wary glances. "Around," Dean said vaguely.

"How'd you meet Maria?" Reid pressed. He was honestly curious how they made it work with four people.

Dean grinned. "Sammy and I were in a bar. Just up the street, actually. We were drifters then, this was about five years ago, and she'd just broken up with her boyfriend. We barely knew Cas at that point; we'd talk sometimes, but that was about it."

Sam took up the story. "We look over from the pool table and she's sitting there, all quiet, drinking whiskey like the world is ending. 'Course, then we find out she can drink both of us under the table with absolutely no problems, so it turns out she was just trying to get tipsy."

"Five doubles and she still passed the road sobriety tests." Dean shook his head in amazement. "Anyway. I go over and we start flirting a bit. I can tell she's nervous. Then Ginormo here decides to stake his claim, completely embarrassing her."

"Once I made it clear we were _both_ interested in her, she was on board," Sam continued. "We took her back to the motel room. We honestly thought that was the last we'd see of her, but a few years later, we came back through town - we were with Cas at this point, and she was down for another night."

"We began talking more often," Cas said. "Not long after, we decided to settle down and asked if she minded us finding a house near her."

"Somehow we ended up living with her until we found somewhere," Dean said. "We never did get around to moving out. How far away is the damn neonatal place?"

Reid barely heard John's answer as his mind worked furiously. She's been a one-night stand in a bar and they ended up marrying? How the hell - there weren't any odds at all on that, it happened so rarely. It might even be a once-in-a-thousand-years thing. They must be very good in bed, or she was very desperate - but that didn't explain why they'd taken her. Maybe she was just that good in bed? Then why bother marrying her and having kids?

How did four strangers fall in love because of a bar?

He was still mulling it over when they reached the NICU. "They're in the ICU?" Dean asked.

"It's just because they're so small," John said hastily. "There's nothing wrong with them. All the tests came back normal."

"Tests?" Cas asked anxiously.

"They're not phenylketonuric, " John said. "Which is good, because otherwise they wouldn't be able to eat anything with corn syrup."

"We're not feeding them anything with that stuff anyway," Dean said darkly. Reid wondered if there was a story there; the look Sam and Cas exchanged removed any doubt.

"They're on formula," John continued, "until their mother gets out of surgery and she's strong enough to nurse."

Dean gripped Cas's hand tight and laced their fingers together, in front of their bodies where nobody but the six of them could see. "Any idea how long that'll be?"

"No, sorry," John said.

"Can we hold them?" Cas asked.

"Yes, of course. We're going to ask you to put on protective clothing, though. Policy," John said apologetically.

"I'm going to go back to Morgan," Blake said. "I’ll text you if something happens."

"Thanks," Reid said.

He stayed in the hallway, watching as John led the three of them (now in yellow aprons, face masks, gloves, and booties; Sam's were already straining at the seams) to the baskets on the far left side of the room, with nametags 'Brasen girl' and 'Brasen boy'. The girl was swaddled in a pink blanket, the boy in blue.

Dean leaned over and said something in Sam's ear that made Sam whack his shoulder and roll his eyes. Cas reached down and lifted Aspian, cradling him gently. Reid could only see his eyes, but he could tell Cas was smiling.

Dean picked up Anna, smoothing her fine hair back from her face. He said something, but Reid couldn't see what, and Sam put a hand on Cas's shoulder.

"Disgusting, isn't it," someone said, coming to stand next to Reid.

He blinked down at the fat, balding man. "I'm sorry?"

"Fags. Don't know why they let them have kids. I had my way they wouldn't be allowed within fifty feet."

"It's none of your business," Reid said. "Why do you care?"

"Cause my kid's in there too. I don't want her around those fags, God only knows what they'll try to do to her."

Reid felt a hot rush of anger; he might not understand how the relationship worked, but he wouldn't accuse them of being child molesters based on it. "They're not going to _do_ anything."

"How do you know?"

Reid moved his badge so it was more prominently displayed. "Because I make a living studying the type of people you're worried about. Trust me, they're not it. And even if they _were_ ," he continued recklessly, "they're not stupid enough to try something in a crowded hospital."

"How do you know? You talk to them?"

"Yes, actually," Reid said coolly. "They're witnesses in an ongoing investigation."

"You sure they're not the perps?" the man sneered.

"Completely," Reid said, "given that it was the shortest one's wife that was attacked."

The man froze. "One of them's married?"

"Yes," Reid said pleasantly, getting a vicious satisfaction from the man's confusion. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you kept your comments to yourself when they come out. Maybe go check if _your_ wife or baby needs anything."

"I'm not married," the man said. "It's my girlfriend's kid."

The sheer hypocrisy - that he accused men in a committed relationship of preying on small children when 'boyfriend' was practically a synonym for 'molester' in cases of child abuse - almost made Reid start laughing. "Congratulations," he said instead, thanking his lucky stars for being born in Vegas and having a good poker face.


	5. Chapter 5

It was another five hours before they got word on Maria. A nurse came into the private waiting room they'd been ushered into. She held out a clipboard. "Mr. Brasen?"

Cas stood. "How is she?"

"We've repaired the damage to her back, but we found another problem. When your wife went into labor, her uterus sustained extensive damage."

"How extensive?" Dean asked, also standing.

The nurse glanced nervously at him; only when Cas nodded encouragingly did she say, "Extensive enough we're considering a hysterectomy."

Dean went pale and collapsed back into his seat. Sam buried his head in his hands.

Cas merely frowned. "Which means?"

"It's - uh, a hysterectomy is where we remove the uterus," the nurse explained. "We might be able to stabilize her without it, but it's unlikely."

"So why are you waiting to do it?" Cas asked blankly. "If it will help you save her?"

"We need your consent as next of kin," the nurse said. "If you could just sign here-"

"Why do you need my consent and not hers?" Cas interrupted.

"Because she won't regain consciousness for hours and if we're going to do this it needs to be done _now_ ," she said.

Cas took the clipboard. "She'll be sterile after this?"

"Yes, sir," the nurse said.

"I doubt she'd want more kids anyway," Cas said, and signed.

It was another three hours, in which Reid, Morgan, or Blake called for updates on the case every hour and Maria's partners made another trip to see their kids (feeding them this time), before they got more news. The same nurse as before came into the room and said, "She made it out okay."

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief, but before they could do much more, the nurse said, "She's in critical care right now. When she wakes up we'll move her to intensive care, and then you can see her. Three at a time, max."

"None of her medications include acetaminophen, correct?" Cas asked sharply.

The nurse shook her head. "We were very careful. She's on penicillin to fight any infection that may have set in, saline to replace the fluid she lost, and hydromorphone for the pain."

"Is dilaudid usually the drug of choice here?" Reid blurted. Morgan glanced at him but kept quiet.

The nurse shook her head. "It's the only painkiller we have without acetaminophen that _might_ make her stay more bearable. When she's stronger we can give her oral painkillers, but we can only do IV right now. And honestly, with her health history, the dilaudid will probably only do so much."

"So she'll be in pain anyway," Reid said, just to make sure.

"Most likely. It'll be less than it would be without the drugs, but she will _definitely_ be feeling it."

When they called Hotch for another update, Morgan and Reid were ordered to stay until Mike Jones was caught. Blake was called back to help with the manhunt.  
***  
It took a few days for her to be able to stay awake long enough to answer questions. Sam, Dean, and Cas took turns sitting next to her, holding her hand, occasionally kissing her through the particle masks they were required to wear, soothing her when she woke biting back a scream. The fever she started running six hours after being moved to the ICU didn't help matters; cultures showed she had contracted a staph infection somehow. They switched her from penicillin to vancomycin, which helped some, but it could take weeks for the infection to clear entirely.

("She doesn't do well with loud," Dean confided in them on day two. "Cas and I got into it once. She wasn't even in the same room, but she got so freaked out she couldn't talk for a few hours. Keep it down when you talk to her, all right?")

When they weren't with her, they were at home with the babies or at work. They'd taken them home on March 2nd, two days after they were born; with twins, when one woke up, so did the other, forcing two of them to get up to take care of them.

("The worst thing is having to tell her she can't see the kids," Sam said. "She keeps forgetting she's supposed to be in a sterile room, and that means no babies. Not even hers."

He looked exhausted. Between work, the hospital, and the twins, Reid privately wondered that they were getting any sleep at all - though he supposed Cas quitting his job helped quite a bit. Maybe there was something to be said for the life they lived, financially speaking.)

The third day after the surgeries, Maria was staying awake for a little over half an hour at a time and her fever was down to 101.2. Reid and Morgan agreed that was good enough to get her statement.

("Don't take it personally if she has a hard time speaking," Cas warned them. "She doesn't know you. She took _months_ to be comfortable with us on anything but a physical level."

"The painkillers will make it hard for her to be coherent, too, I bet," Morgan said.

Cas shook his head. "Her tolerance for everything is through the roof. It's barely making a dent."

Reid couldn't imagine a tolerance high enough that dilaudid wouldn't do anything, but then, imagination had never been his strong suit.)

"Hey, Maria," Reid said. "You remember me?"

"Never got your name," she said. She was pale and sweating from the infection.

"I'm Dr. Reid," he said. "This is Agent Morgan. We're with the FBI." She nodded, but didn't otherwise respond. "Can we ask you some questions?" She nodded again. "Do you remember what happened?"

"When?" she asked.

"Let's start at the beginning," Morgan said, leaning forward in his chair. Her thumb hit the button that would dispense painkillers; her eyes skittered between the two of them, never resting. "What happened the morning Jones came?"

"Sam was at work," she answered quietly. "Dean took the dogs to the vet. Cas stayed with me, but he needed to leave for his last shift. I wasn't going to be by myself long, the doctor told them not to leave me alone since premature labor was so likely. I was asleep. I woke up and someone was calling me "ma'am" and asking if I could understand him, but I fell asleep again really fast. I woke up tied to that bed. I don't know how long I was there, but I went into labor. And then you guys found me."

Her eyes never stopped moving, her voice shook, and she pressed the dispenser button twice in the time it took for her to speak. Reid saw her thumb twitch repeatedly, like she wanted to press it more but was holding off - probably because there was a time limit and she knew it. The heart monitor beeped quickly.

"Is there anything else?" Morgan asked. "Did he tell you where he was going?"

"I - I didn't see him after I was - was left there," she said, voice shaking and failing twice. "He still hasn't been found?"

"No, he hasn’t," Reid said. "We'll find him."

Her thumb spasmed, pressing the button thrice in a second. Morgan added, "Until we _do_ find him, Reid and I are going to stay here. In case he comes back."

"Is that likely?"

"We don’t know," Reid said. "This is just a precaution. And your boys have been taking turns staying with you."

"I know." She smiled softly. "I'm lucky to have them."

They both nodded. "Your kids are doing fine, too," Reid said.

"I hope so," she said, "since I'm not allowed to see them for at least another week. It's funny - you wouldn't think I'd miss them, I haven't even _seen_ them yet, but...well." She shrugged, and the muscles in her neck contracted, jaw setting in pain before the spasm passed and she forced herself to relax.

Reid didn't even want to _think_ about the amount of pain she had to be in for the hydromorphone to be doing so little. When it came down to it, he didn't want to think about the hydromorphone, either.

She yawned, showing teeth; the hand not holding the button made an aborted movement toward her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Morgan said. "Why don't you rest a while. We have what we need."

"Good," she mumbled, "because I am done."

She was asleep in the next breath.

Twenty minutes later, they got the call that Jones had been found and incarcerated. He was being housed in a jail outside the county due to Deputy Brasen. Nobody in command wanted an 'accident'.

They packed up, said their goodbyes, and left for Quantico. "Another case down," Morgan said.

"There'll be another one tomorrow," Reid said, fighting back a yawn.

Morgan chuckled. "Go to sleep, kid. It'll look better when you wake up."

"There's something I don't understand."

"What?"

"How do they work?" Reid asked. "Polygamy is more common and vilified than polyandry, but it's not monogamy, which is what everyone else seems to want. How do the four of them have a functional relationship?"

"You remember how you told me they met? Sam and Dean were together when they met Cas, they were friendly for a while, Sam and Dean found Maria, who was more than friendly. Then Cas was added to Sam and Dean's relationship. Maria came last. I'm guessing that at its core, there are really two relationships there, Sam-and-Dean and Maria-and-Cas. But the four of them work together because those are less important relationships than the four of them, together."

"But why?"

"Does it matter? They're happy. Some things don't get scientific answers, Doctor. Some things aren't scientific, and relationships are one of those things. Hey, look at me." Morgan waited until Reid's eyes were on his face. "I know you don't understand. I don't understand, either. But it doesn't matter _how_ they work. It only matters that they _do._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends another story in the Series That Was Supposed To Be One PWP And Instead Took Over My Brain. Hope you enjoyed! Please review.


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